Villaamil was a Spanish Navy in commission from 1916 to 1932. She spent almost her entire service life under the Kingdom of Spain, seeing action in the Rif War of 1921–1926. She briefly was part of the Spanish Republican Navy under the Second Spanish Republic before her decommissioning.
The Spanish Navy named Villaamil in honor of Capitán de navio (Ship-of-the-Line Captain) Fernando Villaamil Fernández-Cueto (1845–1898), a Spanish naval officer who invented the modern destroyer concept. During the Spanish–American War he was killed in action aboard the destroyer during the Battle of Santiago de Cuba on 1898, one of the highest-ranking Spanish officers to die in the conflict. For identification, she had a large white "V" painted on her bow.
Design and characteristics
Construction and commissioning The Spanish Minister of the Navy, Admiral José Ferrándiz y Niño, approved the Fleet Law of 1908 on 1908. It authorized the construction of the three s, as well as the three s, six gunboats, and 22 torpedo boats.
The second ship of the Bustamante class, Villaamil was laid down at the Sociedad Española de Construcción Naval (SECN; Spanish Shipbuilding Society) at Cartagena, Spain, on 1912. She was launched on 1913 and commissioned on 1916.
Service history 1916–1920 World War I had begun in the summer of 1914, and upon joining the Spanish fleet, Villaamil began patrols in Spanish waters to enforce Spain's neutrality during the conflict. On 1916, Villaamil, her sister ship , and the destroyer left either Ferrol or La Coruña, according to different sources, to join the squadron at Muros for maneuvers but were caught in a severe storm during the voyage. Villaamil reached Muros, but Bustamante was forced to turn back and put in at Ferrol. Terror did not reach port, and a number of ships, including the battleships and , put to sea to search for her. Terror was found adrift in the Atlantic Ocean, disabled by an engine breakdown, and was towed to Ferrol.
On 1917, Villaamil, Bustamante, and the torpedo boats T-2 and T-8 rendezvoused off San Sebastián with the Spanish royal yacht Giralda as Giralda began a voyage to Santander with members of the Spanish royal family aboard. The warships escorted Giralda to Santander, which they reached the same day. By 1917, Villaamil had spent 100 days on neutrality enforcement patrols in Spanish waters since joining the fleet.
Rif War, 1921–1922 The Rif War broke out in Spanish Morocco in 1921, pitting Spanish forces against Berber tribes in the Rif region. Villaamil deployed to the war zone on the coast of North Africa, and on 1921 arrived at the beach at Axdir, where she unloaded provisions, correspondence, and mattresses for prisoners of war. She returned to Spain at Cádiz on .
On the night of 1922, Bustamante and the seaplane carrier departed Melilla as part of a squadron under the overall command of Vicealmirante (Vice Admiral) Juan Bautista Aznar-Cabañas. The rest of Aznar's squadron — Alfonso XIII, Villaamil, the destroyers and , and the coastal patrol vessel — got underway from Melilla shortly thereafter. Also taking part in the operation were the steamers Lázaro, carrying three companies and a platoon of infantry, and España No. 5, carrying a battalion of troops from Ceuta and a group of Regulares from Tétouan. The squadron conducted a simulated amphibious landing off Cala Iris — a beach at Alhucemas — and left indigenous Moroccan troops to take up positions at M'Ter.
On the night of 1922, a squadron under Aznar's overall command consisting of 19 ships — Villaamil, Alfonso XIII, Bustamante, Cadarso, Dédalo, the armored cruiser , the gunboats and , two torpedo boats, the coastal patrol vessels and , the fuel tankers H-2 and H-3, and five smaller vessels — departed Melilla. The squadron simulated amphibious landings along the North African coast in the Bocoya inlet between Punta Bebazun and Cabo Quilates, at Sidi Dris, and at Afrau. The squadron bombarded Riffian positions at Sidi Dris and Afrau from 1922 onward.
1923–1932 With King Alfonso XIII observing from aboard Villaamil, the Spanish Navy's submarine flotilla conducted maneuvers in the Mediterranean Sea off Cartagena in March 1923. To mark the feast day of the papal coronation of the statue of the Virgen de los Desamparados (Our Lady of the Forsaken) on 1923, festivities took place in Valencia with Alfonso XIII, Queen Victoria Eugenie, and numerous dignitaries in attendance. Villaamil, the battleship España, the gunboat , the torpedo boats No. 21 and No. 22, and the submarine were in port for the event.
King Alfonso XIII, Queen Victoria Eugenie, and Prime Minister Miguel Primo de Rivera embarked on the battleship on and departed for Italy on accompanied by the Trasmediterránea mail steamer — which was carrying the royal entourage — and escorted by Villaamil, Cadarso, the battleship Alfonso XIII, the light cruiser Reina Victoria Eugenia, and the submarines , , B-3, and . The royal family disembarked at La Spezia, Italy. The squadron anchored at Naples, Italy, on . After the completion of the royal visit, the squadron returned to Spain, arriving at Barcelona on and at Cartagena on 1923.
In Spain, Villaamil was assigned to duty with the Training Squadron. On the morning of 1924, the squadron — consisting of Villaamil, Alfonso XIII, Jaime I, Bustamante, and Cadarso — got underway from Cartagena to conduct gunnery exercises off Santa Pola. After completing the exercises, the squadron called at Valencia before arriving on 1924 at Barcelona, where they rendezvoused with Reina Victoria Eugenia, the troopship Contramaestre Casado, and an Italian Regia Marina (Royal Navy) squadron visiting the port. Sources provide conflicting accounts of the squadron's subsequent activities. According to one, the two battleships and three destroyers departed Barcelona and visited the Balearic Islands before returning to Cartagena on 1924. According to another, the ships remained at Barcelona until and then proceeded to Cartagena.
At 09:00 on 1924, Villaamil, Alfonso XIII, Jaime I, Bustamante, and Cadarso departed Barcelona to conduct maneuvers in the Gulf of Roses. After completing them, the ships proceeded to the Balearic Islands, where they visited Mahón on Menorca and Palma de Mallorca on Mallorca. They then stopped at Alicante before returning to Cartagena.
Capitán de corbeta (Lieutenant Commander) Salvador Moreno Fernández — a future almirante (admiral) and minister of the navy — became the commanding officer of Villaamil on 1925. Under his command, Villaamil arrived at Palma de Mallorca on 1925, which a British Royal Navy squadron was visiting at the time. Cadarso also was at Palma de Mallorca during the British visit. Villaamil later returned to Cartagena. Moreno Fernández relinquished command on 1925.
Villaamil arrived at Ferrol in early October 1927. Several officers were aboard to conduct gunnery training at the naval firing range.
At the end of March 1929, the Spanish Navy formed a squadron to serve at the Janer gunnery range at Marín. It consisted of Villaamil, the torpedo boats T-1 and T-3, the coastal patrol vessel , and the tug Ferrolano. Villaamil spent the rest of her active service life providing services at the gunnery range.
On 14 April 1931, the Second Spanish Republic was proclaimed, replacing the Kingdom of Spain. The Spanish Navy came under the republic's control as the Spanish Republican Navy.
Disposal The last of the Bustamente-class destroyers in service, Villaamil was decommissioned and stricken from the naval register in the latter part of 1932. She was scrapped that year.
References Citations
Bibliography ABC (newspaper, in Spanish)
El Globo (newspaper, in Spanish) El Sol (newspaper, in Spanish)
Heraldo de Madrid (newspaper, in Spanish) La Acción (newspaper, in Spanish) La Correspondencia de España (newspaper, in Spanish) La Época (newspaper, in Spanish) La Vanguardia (newspaper, in Spanish) La Voz de Galicia (newspaper, in Spanish) Semanario Vida Marítima (Maritime Life Weekly)
External links